Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine August/September 2014

12 Texas birds to know, Chihuahuan Desert changes, how to catch a striper at Texoma. And more.
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TPW Magazine cover cactus with bird

Aug/Sept 2014 - Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine

Learn to ID 12 Texas birds. Read about how wildfire, freezes, floods and drought may be changing the Chihuahuan Desert. Find everything you need to know about catching stripers at a Lake Texoma hotspot. A rookie birder reports on his eye-opening days among a flock of experts. Carter Smith celebrates the history of Government Canyon State Natural Area, which owes its existence to some conservation-minded pioneer families. The public hunt system is going paperless this year. Read about some good news for Texas bats and the new angle on photography offered by flip-out screens on digital cameras. Consider a trip to South Llano River State Park. Discover purple pineapples and skeleton shrimp, and get a few pointers on how to choose the correct arrow.

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Feature Articles

12 Birds Every Texan Should Know

A short starter list for those who long to put a name with a beak.

great egret adult, two hungry chicks on nest

By Cliff Shackelford

Every Texan is familiar with icons like the Alamo and the state Capitol, but how many of our feathered friends can you identify? Northern cardinal, blue jay, grackle … Those are pretty easy, but there are so many more!

Birding is one of the fastest-growing outdoor activities in the U.S. With 639 species of birds documented in Texas, things really are bigger and better here in the Lone Star State. Birding in Texas is year-round, thanks to our location and diverse eco-regions, and can be rewarding in every corner of the state. TPWD’s wildlife trails make it easier than ever to find the best birding hot spots. Read more.

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Ay, Chihuahua!

Nature center studies wildfire’s effects on Chihuahuan Desert.

cactus bloom close up

By Rob McCorkle
Photos by Earl Nottingham

The Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center was lucky to escape relatively unscathed from the devastating Rock House fire that roared through 315,000 acres of the Davis Mountains and the Trans-Pecos in April 2011. The horrific wildfire, however, was only one threat in a year of extremes, including sub-zero February temperatures, a freak August monsoon that scoured the landscape and the subsequent drought that endures today.

Research into the wildfire’s impact takes center stage now at the 36-year-old nature center near Fort Davis as Sul Ross State Uni­versity students and volunteers chronicle the fire’s negative effects on some desert species and the amazing resilience of others. Read more.

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Bounty on the Border

For plentiful stripers, head up to Lake Texoma.

big striped bass surfacing on line

Story and photos by Larry D. Hodge

Chris Carey revs the big outboard as he screams, “It’s a twin tornado!” We streak across the water, heading straight for the storm.

Seconds later we’re slinging white buck-tailed jigs tipped with plastic worms into the water beneath the double-helix swarm of circling seagulls. The birds are there to pick off shad pushed to the surface by marauding striped bass, and our lures look just like small silvery fish swimming for their lives.

My second offering is almost back to the boat, and I’m lifting the rod tip and reeling faster, preparing for another cast, when a monstrous strike snaps the 20-pound-test Big Game line. 

“That’s the fish we’ve been waiting for,” Carey exclaims, quickly tying another lure on my line. Read more.

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